My screen is 1024 by 800 and everything looks fine here except for the User Preferences page. The boxes for different choices extend into the right-hand column, overlapping the other info there.

I also think we need to get a FAQ written in the big four or five languages but that's something that will come in time... if only to say (in German, etc) that this is predominantly an English-language site, how to register, etc. because some of the initial stuff is confusing and uses a lot of technical English (like "Display preferences" etc).

I have a suggestion of my own, which is that the recommended diaries reflect the country of residence of the author.

It's cool in the US @BMT - wow another nation exists, using the Internet to meet us.

Just watch out with the EU, still not over it, we may not wage another war in the near future! The EU getting in some difficulties because citizens have a sense losing their identity.

The travelers to visit different cultures and/or well educated have voted Oui to the EU charter in France and the Netherlands.

Perhaps better to avoid nationals issue, consider the eTrib community as a true European Blog Forum. Remember the recent pie gender war? Your suggestion could lead to major rifts in Strasbourg and Brussels! Think of the matrix of cross-translations!

Unless you intended that all foreign visitors to the Europe Tribune make themselves known: 40% USA and 10% Canadian and another 8% from other countries. That would be an idea. LOL

I do have one wish though: Would it be possible to make the country abbreviation show up at the bottom of the browser when I move my cursor over it? (That information would be more meaningful to me than the uid.)

The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman

I have no idea. That is, it must clearly be due to a bug. I have uprated them all so they are visible now, and will let Andy, the programmer, know. It would be horrible for comments just to vanish for no reason.

Users who have a mojo greater than a certain minimum, and who have posted a sufficient number of comments, such as yourself, for example, are considered "trusted" users, and have the added capability to rate comments below the normal minimum rating, and also to see comments rated below the minimum (they are hidden from normal users).

Could you gather all the diaries about each country's political system--there have been 3 so far I think: France, Netherlands and Switzerland--and have then always available? Then when you are reading about a poltical development in a specific country you could check them quickly for some background. It would be especially good for we uninformed Americans. I have only had a chance to read one so far--Jerome's--but I know I could learn a lot from each of them. Maybe each diary writer could include a link to the relevant one at the bottom of his/her diary, if it would not be too much trouble

This was precisely the same suggestion that I was about to make -- it would be a great shame if this series effectively disappeared within a matter of days. Admittedly, the diaries/front-page posts would still exist, but one would have to run searches for them, so it wouldn't be obvious to users.

Having some sort of permanent link up at the main menu (say, "Country Political Guides"), which would then provide links to the underlying posts, would be immensely helpful.